India returns to Melbourne for their third successive International Cup. Their first visit Down Under resulted in a series of heavy losses, however at the last tournament the team displayed improvement and secured their first-ever victory, against East Timor.
Once again only half the squad will travel from India, however this time the travelling party are official participants in the Australian Rules Football Association of India, representing three of its clubs; Bengal Tigers, Maharashtra Giants and Jharkand Crows. In addition to this, a number of the Melbourne-based players have had regular match time at Masala Football Club, in the Victorian Amateur Football Association; the club having been born out of India’s last International Cup campaign.
The Country and Australian Football
India is the world’s second most populous nation (1.2 billion people) and arguably one of the most diverse.
Football arrived in India with former VFL player Brian Dixon in the months prior to the 2008 International Cup. Dixon hoped the tournament would serve as a catalyst for growth of the sport in India. Whilst not in the manner Dixon had intended, such growth did occur, albeit more than three years later.
That growth has been driven by Sudip Chakraborty, a member of the 2008 and 2011 squads and an occasional World Footy News writer. Chakraborty was sufficiently taken by the game to pursue a postgraduate qualification in Sports Management and ultimately establish the Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI).
Since its establishment, ARFAI has launched programs in six Indian states, has seven paid full time roles and has hosted two successful National Championships.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The country now has a formal governing body, although given it is recently established, at-most minor improvement can be expected of the India-based players. Of the Melbourne-based players, most have at least some football experience and a good understanding of the sport’s tactical intricacies.
India is fixtured in Pool B, with matches against Tonga, PNG and Pakistan. Based on previous matches, a win against Pakistan is the only likelihood and even this might prove challenging, given the Shaheens extensive preparation.
Team (#, name, DOB, height, weight, club)
13 Saudi CHAKRABORTY 06/11/1989 186 88 Bengal Tigers
15 Sudhasil MITRA 06/11/1989 184 72 Bengal Tigers
22 Sk. Arif ALI 30/06/1988 178 70 Bengal Tigers
23 Jonathan D’MOORE 13/07/1986 183 81 Bengal Tigers
11 Rakesh GHOSH 11/05/1985 180 70 Bengal Tigers
21 Jasim AKHTAR 15/10/1988 175 75 Bengal Tigers
14 Biswajit DAS 04/11/1985 168 70 Bengal Tigers
25 Md. FARIDUDDIN 17/07/1990 183 85 Bengal Tigers
9 Saurabh BHANDEKAR 22/03/1991 173 72 Maharashtra Giants
10 Zuber BAIG 20/09/1990 168 70 Maharashtra Giants
4 Mayur PARMAR 03/10/1994 178 72 Maharashtra Giants
12 Mahesh TIRKEY 23/02/1993 181 71 Jharkhand Crows
3 Sukanta GOLDER 06/02/1992 173 72 Bengal Tigers
26 Shezmon MADEIRA 07/09/1989 180 73
18 Fevin MASCARENHAS 01/08/1986 175 80 Masala (VAFA)
5 Tarak SHAH 12/12/1990 168 70 Masala (VAFA)
27 Dilpreet SINGH 19/09/1988 178 83 Emmaus-St Leos (VAFA)
19 Prakash KAILASHNATHAN 12/10/1985 174 70 Masala (VAFA)
7 Shyamkumar SHARMA 11/08/1986 176 70
8 Raul ANNEDI 20/09/1995 173 69
1 Darius FERNANDES 07/07/1992 164 56 Bulleen-Templestowe (VAFA)
20 Sumit KUNDU 20/11/1988 178 73
16 Anton Mories JEGAN MORIES 20/12/1996 173 80 Masala (VAFA)
6 Dishan YOGATATHINAM 21/02/1997 170 76 Masala (VAFA)
24 Trevor BANERJEE 30/04/1979 175 71 Masala (VAFA)
28 Gursharan GILL 13/09/1986 175 83
29 Lakshay TOTLANI 20/10/1984 174 95
Players to Watch
India-based Chakraborty, Mitra, D’Moore and Ghosh all return from 2011 as do Melbourne-based Banerjee, Madeira, Mascarenhas and Kailasanathan. Melbourne-based players currently aligned to clubs will also be amongst the stronger players.
Bottom Line
Very hard to speculate given the country’s last hit out was three years ago fielding a largely different team. In a best-case scenario India will be a low-finish in Division 1. A worse-case scenario and they struggle to match their one win of 2011.
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